In cities around the world, bars bearing the name “Eagle” are gay — and usually gay leather — bars. New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Dallas, and many other cities have local dives bearing the name “Eagle.” One city that doesn’t have one? Philadelphia. There, The Bike Stop has been the big gay leather bar for years.

So you’ll have to forgive the Philadelphia Eagles fans in Minneapolis yesterday who stumbled into the Eagle Bolt bar thinking it was a bar for Eagles fans. Instead, it’s Minneapolis’ version of the gay series of bars that have been around for decades.

Owner Ed Hopkins admits he was surprised by the tweets from gay and straight people about the Eagles invasion. “It assumes there is something wrong with realizing you are in a gay bar,” he said, adding. “The people in tonight enjoyed being in our place.”

And his bar didn’t have to worry about any repeat of the scenes Vikings fans endured during the NFC Championship Game – it sounds like the all had a great time.

“The Eagles fans were very rowdy and fun. We enjoyed having them in our establishment.” By the end, Hopkins added, the bar was filled with just as many Patriots fans as Eagles.

The head of a local SEIU live-tweeted throughout.

A good number of #Eagles fans seem to have mistaken the @eagleBoltbar for a fan watering hole. Who will tell them? Not this guy.

Cuz sports bars always have glory holes in the rest rooms. I wonder how many switched teams that day.

It Takes a Village, People

Jokes on you. They don’t even have walls between the stalls at the Eagle.

Mark Née Fuzz

Depends on the Eagle. The one here had one just wide enough for a glory hole. That too is a fetish to be served.

Xiao Ai: The Social Gadfly

The word is savored. As in, fetish to be savored. 😄

Gerry Fisher

In the Baltimore Eagle, it’s a unisex bathroom. Lots of stalls, and a wall to pee on in the back, if you’re “old school.”

JoeMyGod

We had a JMG meetup at the Minneapolis Eagle back in 2011 and I recall it as being more of a casual pub than a leather bar. But I had terrible fever that night and split early, so maybe I’m mis-remembering.

Gustav2

Sure, sure. What was that ‘fever’s’ name?

Pollos Hermanos

Peggy Lee

JCF

2011: “Fever with thy flaming youth” 😉

PickyPecker

Years ago, before they expanded to the ‘Bolt’ side of things, the bar was small…a log bar…a few tables…couple of pool tables in the back. Back then, they had somewhat of a strict ‘dress code’ where they would turn people away if you were wearing a shirt/tie or casual businesswear. Over time, they loosened up to ensure that anyone in jeans, leather, uniform and more casual wear were all just fine. So yeah, is pretty relaxed these days.
PS. The bar is located VERY close to the stadium, so not surprising folks wandered in. Used to happen a lot…even after things like fireworks on the 4th.http://www.portalmotos.com/imagenes/Imagenes_Web/albumes/Humor%20motero/9748.jpg

Cuberly Deux

Picky! Vrooooooom!

zhera

Damn! I bet the chicks love that bike!

Gerry Fisher

[groan]

Mark_in_MN

Picky, are you in/near the Twin Cities?!

Raising_Rlyeh

It’s not really much of a leather bar. They do leather events there, but it’s not what I’d call a strictly leather bar. The saloon is more of a leather bar, imo, than the eagle. Of course the gay nineties has a backroom which is fun.

Ninja0980

I can confirm from being the only gay guy in a group of straight friends, if there’s alcohol and sports on, anyone comfortable with their sexuality won’t give a shit where they’re at.

Lane

The issue is folks whose lack of comfort comes out stronger while drinking.

another_steve

That’s the difference between a good drunk and a bad drunk.

A good drunk gets more and more mellow and relaxed and okay with whatever, as the evening progresses.

A bad drunk gets paranoid and protective and withdrawn, often lashing out at others for no reason at all.

clay

So, since I fall asleep after one drink . . . I’m either excellent at drinking or a cheap drunk (both).

another_steve

Lol. I know guys like you. 😉

Friends tell me I’m the perfect drunk. I get all merry and gay and recite complete monologues from Rod Serling’s classic ’60s series, The Twilight Zone.

My husband gets all amorous when he’s drunk.

I try to keep him boozed up as often as possible.

(((GC)))

<grin>

But does he get all amorous with other people when he’s drunk… and if so, is your relationship an open one?

another_steve

During the first ten or so years of living together, we had a sexually open relationship. He’d bring guys home, as would I. We were both perfectly okay with it.

We were in our 20s then. Much younger than today. I’m 65 and he’s a bit older.

Our wants and needs were different, back then in our halcyon days.

Mike_in_the_Tundra

My father was definitely a bad drunk.

gaycuckhubby

I get talkative and very happy when I’m drunk

Tom Furgas

I’m a happy drunk too. One time at a party I started babbling gibberish and my boyfriend just said “Tom, you’re drunk.” I babbled some sweet nothings right back at him.

another_steve

That’s a good thing. You’re a good drunk.

I have this one friend who loves my martinis (I have a reputation for mixing good ones) but who becomes solemn and morose after the first one.

So we’ll be on our seconds and he’ll start crying about how he neglected his mother and how she died in a cheap and tawdry nursing home where no one spoke English and yada yada yada.

But he’s a good friend and we do what we can to accommodate the needs of good friends.

gaycuckhubby

Except Tequila. That’s a whole different form of poison for me

another_steve

In my dotage I’ve discovered that tequila goes beautifully with virtually any fruit juice. The fancy concoctions are nice but not essential.

A 50-50 blend of tequila and whatever fruit juice you have pending in the refrigerator is just beautiful.

Add ice, mix and enjoy.

Ninja0980

Vodka is the poison for me.

wmforr

The fact is, in this day and age, a heterosexual who is uncomfortable around gays has serious problems of his own. Forty years ago I took a straight friend to a dinner where everyone else was gay, which he was aware of. They had fun asking “the het” what is was like being straight–how do you find girls who aren’t lesbians?–was it some childhood incident that made you straight?… He took it as all good fun.

bkmn

It is just a few blocks from the stadium…

Judas Peckerwood

“The way these guys are carrying on, you’d think Cher just walked in the room.”

That was a thing of beauty.

greenmanTN

And their defense will be, “Swear to god I just thought it was a hammock!”

Semi O/T – I did hear that some thoughtful woman came up with the idea to have donation boxes at the airport for all the winter wear people purchased for the event. The donated items will be distributed to homeless shelters in the Twin Cities area.

Dunno how many airports do this, but I always liked that DIA has donation boxes for the pocket change you’ll have to take out before you walk through the scanner anyway. The change is distributed to homeless relief organizations in Denver.

JCF

Um, can somebody tell me what this Javier Morillo guy’s problem is? It sounds like the Eagles fans were there to have fun—weren’t you? [And for Certain Other Kinds of Fun: doesn’t this bar have a backroom for that?]

Rambie

Not every state allows backrooms

AC

it’s no fun if it is “allowed”

Rambie

So true…

TCinBerkeley

I think as a Minnesotan, the sort of exuberance displayed by the Eagles fans is not encountered very often (former Minneapolis resident and full time Norwegian-American here), and so a little frightening when you aren’t caught up in it yourself. This was the first year in a long time that Vikings fans thought they might have a chance, and the Twins haven’t won anything in over two and a half decades, so Minnesotans are not used to it.

gaycuckhubby

I think he’s doing the gay boy thing where we hyperbolically make fun of straight people?
I don’t know how to explain it, but we are all do it at times

GanymedeRenard

He’s just being playfully sarcastic in a campy kind of way, if I understand correctly. At least to me, his tweets come across as harmless. 🙂

misterjack

The Mpls Eagle doesn’t have a back room. That doesn’t stop some discreet hanky panky.

jeffg166

On New Years Day in Philadelphia straight people going to gay bars is normal. I don’t think this is the first time a lot of them had been in a gay bar.

Philly Mike

and they have a blast

Oscarlating Wildely

Woodys at NYE is a rare treat.

clay

and St. Patrick’s Day, and (to a lesser extent) Independence Day, are also when I notice “the tourists” (distinct from the “conventioneers” in town for a weekend).

bkmn

If you know any workers that rely on tips to survive, make sure they know about this.

Agreed. Granted sometimes the porn shots freak some people out but after a while it’s like “oh look! That’s a dick!”

clay

In Philly there’s an organized “straight bar take over” at least once a month, and not just in Center City / Gayborhood. One of the favored “straight” dance venues, and one of the favored “straight” dives, both host weekly queer events.

gaycuckhubby

One of my fav nights out was with 5 drag queens. We got hammered as we went on a bar crawl.
They became the life of the party in every bar we went to

JWC

Mine I think was in Atlanta at Blakes. I do not know it the performers were in drag or not but they(5-6) got into some Negro spirituals they had that place jumping Everyone was everyone’s friend

[I trust the Dems also have someone lined up to keep her House seat also.]

Senate: dscc.org
House: dccc.org

Blake J Butler

Best I remember that the seats are rated towards democratic leaning, those that are democrat occupied right now.

She is the formidable opponent for dean heller. She’s been on the attack with everything he’s said and done.

bkmn

I read the Republican entity for House seats is dumping a lot of money to back Heller against his primary opponent. Heller’s Republican opponent must be a real whack job and they fear if he wins the primary he will be massacred by Rosen.

SoCalGal20

Danny Tarkanian

Henry Auvil

I spent many a night (and sometimes got lucky) at the Eagle on the West Side Highway of Manhattan. Those were the dayz. I don’t do bars anymore, but cherish the memories.

JWC

I think that fits a lot of us.. Thanks for the memories

Henry Auvil

I met the love of my life in a wonderful dive at the corner of Fourth Street and Second Avenue, but those nights on the west side were racy and fun.

JWC

Given the times we went through and the friends we lost To come out the other side relatively unscathed and with the good memories is great

This is the kind of awesome little news nugget that I used to enjoy reading before we entered this alternate dimension we are in now, since Nov. 9, 2016.

And just a few reminders for my fellow earth-oners who also got trapped in this dimension (so we don’t get outed): Remember that in this dimension, the Bowling Green massacre happened and Trump weighs 239 pounds (so gravity works different here).

Thing to remember is the initial January jobs & economy numbers just came out last week, and we’re now seeing the reactions.

Signs are the Trump/GOP economy is about to spark a major inflationary cycle. Chaos and uncertainty around the world has increased oil (and gas) prices. Crops in American farmlands are rotting due to lack of labor and now China doesn’t want to import US sorghum. NAFTA is in jeopardy. The fed deficit means the debt limit will be hit again in April or May at the latest. And in three days the continuing resolution expires and there doesn’t seem to be any movement in Congress to pass a new spending measure.

The shitstorm is just growing.

Lazycrockett

I love that the bartender is wearing a turtleneck in a gay leather bar!!!!!

When I was in school, frequently some big name bands would play at Lower Sproul Plaza. The Queer Alliance & Resource Center, basically the LGBTQ club, had its room on the 4th(?) floor of the old Eshleman Hall, with a perfect view to watch the events from just above and behind the band.

Eventually, some clueless straight guys would find their way into the room during these concerts, thinking how lucky they were to just stumble upon such a great, and uncrowded, view. Like clockwork, say within 5 minutes, they’d eventually glance around the room and see the rainbow flags, condom supply bowls, and pictures of shirtless men, and suddenly decide they didn’t think the view was that great anymore.

Silly straight people.

BobSF_94117

You should have left out six-packs of beer.

Silly gay people.

another_steve

I’m assuming that’s no longer the case when it comes to the majority of straight people under age 30. Back before, say, 1990 – maybe. But not today.

If you’re under 30 today and don’t have openly queer friends, you were either home-schooled or you’re brain-dead.

m_lp_ql_m

This would have been 2007 to 2010; not so long ago. However, I’d say my school attracted lots of people from far-away places and ideologies, and is known for, supposedly, opening minds.

The as billed numbers genus has been a monumental self-interest sponge.

Tread

It’s just another one of their lies.

Del Sam

Oh boy, do I ever have some fond and filthy memories of the DC Eagle….

another_steve

I know the original DC Eagle on New York Avenue closed, but didn’t it move to another location? I vaguely recall reading that the new location was difficult to find or get to.

This was years ago. Perhaps someone who knows can provide the current status.

clay

far NE, though there is a warehouse parking lot and a subway stop within a block or so.

Fritz Keppler

The original location was on 10th Street NW, torn down in the late 70’s for construction of the now defunct convention center.

another_steve

So many D.C. gay bars and clubs were closed down due to redevelopment.

D.C. brethren reading here will recall La Cage and The Follies, closed and torn down to make room for that hateful Nationals stadium.

I hate the Nats because of that.

I will never love them.

Del Sam

Did they do away with the “Glorious Health Club” on O St as well? I haven’t been to the new Eagle in DC, but I hear that it can’t hold a candle to the one on NY Ave. And upstairs at the Green Lantern, well, if you’ve been there, nothing more needs to be said.

another_steve

I’m fey and delicate and have never frequented the more butch, “rougher” night spots in D.C.

Perhaps others reading here can answer your question.

sfbob

I used to go to the old Eagle in DC, back in the early ’80s. And the Eagle In Exile.

Fritz Keppler

Same here. It was great when they’d have brunch at the Exile on Saturday afternoons and have the Metropolitan Opera through the sound system. Even brought a straight friend who was a Marine to one, and he enjoyed it thoroughly.

William

There was an ‘incident’ that time I was there. There’s nothing like an employee still screaming at you after you reach the sidewalk.

Awww man. He was so great in The Broken Hearts Club. Uh, which hasn’t held up well over the years….but still. Sheesh I forgot how many young male stars got their break in that movie, hell even Dean Cain is in it….Mr. Christian himself.

“The Broken Hearts Club. Uh, which hasn’t held up well over the years….but still”

How specifically? [I loved that movie! But no, I haven’t seen it in years.]

Cuberly Deux

It’s good in it’s own way. It just reeks of that WeHo stereotype that irks me.

It’s just me….

gaycuckhubby

Nah… not just you 🙂
It was a sweet movie though

Cuberly Deux

It was. It’s definately of that period in the 90s gay cinema rennaisaince.

Damn, after watching that whole trailer I’m still surprised at the number of stars that at the time were fresh on the scene.

sfbob

I’d forgotten he was in that. To be honest I found the movie to be cute but at the same time quite disappointing, not because it was bad but because it could have been much better. It struck me right away that everyone in it was very white and all of them were pretty in the same general way (except for Mahoney of course). Broke Hearts Club showed at Frameline; also on the schedule that year were the initial episodes of Noah’s Ark. The movie and the series had some similarities but Noah’s Ark had a good deal more realness to it.

JCF

“everyone in it was very white”

Billy Porter?! O_o

popebuck1

I’ll always remember him from “Moonstruck,” as the irresponsible college professor who ALMOST convinces Olympia Dukakis to stray on her husband…

William

He played a very sweet drag queen on ER.

That_Looks_Delicious

OT – Sooooo… today he managed to slander the House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the CIA and the FBI all in one tweet. Right before calling Devin Nunes a “Great American Hero.” Why are we allowing in tweets from these shithole twitter accounts?

Don’t worry Donnie, I’m sure nothing bad ever happened from insulting a senator, a representative and a bunch of former spooks and investigators at the same time.

sfbob

If any politician is NOT seeking to run for higher office it’s Adam Schiff. I met Schiff during AIDS/LifeCycle in 2014; he was tenting next door to me during the week though I didn’t realize who he was until the ride was nearly over. Talk about someone who doesn’t go looking for attention. A genuinely nice, decent guy. A real mensch who raised a shit ton of money for the LA LGBT Center’s HIV clinic while also occasionally taking a break to take care of Congressional business.

Schiff clearly loves what he’s doing right now. Had it been otherwise he’d have tried for Barbara Boxer’s Senate seat when she retired.

There’s a liar in the House to be sure. Several of them in fact. But none of those people are Adam Schiff.

What this suggests to me is House Republicans knew damned well the Nunes memo is a disaster and the only way to drive it out of the news is to let the Dems rebut… or let Donald try to block that rebuttal.

In other words, they want him to be the goat now.

Treant

An’ we all know what happens to the sacrificial goat once the ceremony is done.

I remember one time my friends (all gay guys) and i went to a Latin gay bar (El Serape) in Phoenix and the bouncer at the entrance told us, “You know this is a gay bar, right?” Lol. The only time that has ever happened to us.

Mike_in_the_Tundra

I spent many pleasant evenings there. It’s a really great place.

misterjack

I used to go every Friday night for 3-4-1 Happy Hour. Good times.

Tom Furgas

I’ll bet not a few of the straight guys who accidentally found themselves in a gay bar were actually glad it was rather like a stag party. Anyway, the novelty of the atmosphere was probably all part of the fun.

When I was 19, I went to London for a three week foreign exchange thing. I was a student at a small Baptist liberal arts college and not old enough to drink back at home. My two roommates and I were staying in a tiny little room with bunk beds that was smaller than my bathroom at home. We were staying at Earl’s Court, which seems odd in retrospect, and we set out for the nearest bar. Keep in mind this was circa 1992, and I was sheltered in many ways. We opened the door to this bar, took about three steps inside, and immediately retreated. There was not a single woman in sight. I remember feeling a little panicky for some reason. Honestly, I suspect it would have been the safest place in that part of town, but we were children and utterly baffled by the lack of women. I think at the time we must have thought we had just wandered into some place that didn’t allow women. We were so dumb.

I don’t do any bar hopping these days, and I know there is rightful opposition to straight women invading gay bars, but I would really like to be a spectator just one time at a gay bdsm bar. I promise to be quiet and just sit unobtrusively and watch. Well. I might take notes. M/m fiction is a big seller among straight women. If my stocks all crash, we may need a third income to prepare for the grouse spouse’s retirement.

gaycuckhubby

Supplementing your income by writing gay bdsm erotica?
I like your style 😉

Gretchen

If I were guessing, I would say about 90% of the gay romance novels on Amazon are written by women for women. There are entire conventions just for gay romance authors. I’m going to give a little TMI here. I have have had sex with one one man at a time and two at a time. I will just let you guess which is more fun. If I’m going to write about something, it won’t be silly girls being swept away by pirates.

There’s a whole genre of Japanese manga that is written by women for teenage girls and young women, called “boys’ love” or “yaoi.” Yes, it is romance stories about boys and young men, usually involving at least one sex scene, which, given Japanese censorship laws, is generally very understated. 85% of the audience for this in America is indeed, young women and teenage girls. I remember being in the manga section of a Borders store several years ago that was invaded by a gaggle of school girls, one of them wanting to know if the others had found any “yowie.”

Gretchen

I have never read any of it, but I have seen yaoi listed on Amazon. Long, long ago there was a book by Nancy Friday that was considered the be all end all about (straight) women’s fantasies. There were all sorts of things from the most tame to things I wouldn’t have thought of let alone done. As a footnote at the end of the book, she mentioned that a tiny minority of women had fantasies about men having sex with other men. She had written about women having fantasies of bestiality with pets, but somehow gay sex was far more taboo.

For me, I like books without female characters. Women are hard work for me. I don’t make female friends easily, and it’s rare that I am able to find a female character sympathetic. That’s my own little corner of psychic damage, but finding m/m books was such a joy for me. Books where men are good dads, good husbands, and community heroes are appealing to me. The sex isn’t bad either. In straight romance the point is to identify with the heroine, and I just don’t. I would rather have a book with two heroes I can enjoy without the expectation of projecting myself into a role. This is honestly the most I have ever thought about why I like m/m books (not just romance). Mostly I just think, “What’s not to like?”

You’d probably love BL manga — seldom has female characters, and the drawing is often rather amazing — you can see elements of Japanese graphic art traditions in the layouts, which can be very fluid and nonlinear, and within the frames themselves –they’re often quite beautiful on their own. Spoiled me for Western comics for a while.

If you’re interested, I reviewed a a number of them. You can do a search for “Ordinary Crush” and “Kimi Shiruya” at Epinions.com — those were two of the best. Or “Loveless”, which by Western standards is fairly outrageous. Or you can do a search for Makoto Tateno or Momoko Tenzen, creators of a number of excellent manga. And I’m going to stop there because enough is enough.

It’s been interesting seeing the reactions of Westerners to BL: I have quite a large group of them which I’ve tried to sell off — I don’t really reread them a lot, and I tend to get short of space for books. No dealer I’ve talked to wants to deal with them. Borders used to carry them on open shelves, but shrink-wrapped. Barnes & Noble wouldn’t carry them at all.

Gretchen

Thanks for the information. I’m not sure Manga is my thing, but I’m willing to give it a shot.

I lived in the Earls Court area about 20 years before you did. It was a great place for cheap lodging for college students. Had a lot of fun there but alas missed the gay bars.

ColdCountry

That makes me smile, and smiles are good.

R W C

Was it really a mistake?
After all, you can’t always get what you want, you get what you need.

eddiebeskeddie

right … oops, I accidently walked into a gay bar, again.

Gerry Fisher

One of my fondest memories of having our bar invaded in Boston was in the mid 80s when the Shriners were in town for a convention. They’d swoop into the bar, fez wearing and all, buy drinks, hoot and holler for a half hour, then leave. They were *awesome*!

wmforr

If you remember the movie Beer, the three straight guys from the beer commercial, they end up in a gay bar and… “Hey, this is just like the bars in the commercials, all men, no women.”